1. Field
The general inventive concept relates to information storage devices and methods of operating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Non-volatile information storage devices retain recorded information even when power is cut off. Examples of non-volatile information storage devices include hard disk drives (HDDs), non-volatile random access memories (RAMs), etc.
In general, conventional HDDs may wear down and experience operational failure due to a rotating mechanical device included in the HDD. As a result, conventional HDDs have relatively low reliability.
A representative example of a conventional non-volatile RAM is flash memory. Although conventional flash memories do not use a rotating mechanical device, conventional flash memories do have relatively low reading and writing speeds, relatively short lifetimes, and smaller storage capacities relative to conventional HDDs. Also, conventional flash memories have relatively high manufacturing costs.
Another type of information storage device uses movement of a magnetic domain wall of a magnetic material. A magnetic domain is a minute magnetic region formed of a ferromagnetic material, in which magnetic moments are arranged in a given direction. A magnetic domain wall is a border region between magnetic domains having different magnetization directions. The magnetic domain and the magnetic domain wall may be moved by supplying current to the magnetic material. By using the movement of the magnetic domain and the magnetic domain wall, an information storage device having a relatively large storage capacity without the need to use a rotating mechanical device may be realized.